On October 20, 1997 the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, signed a decree declaring the city of Akmola the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan from December 10, 1997. After the announcement of the capital, the city was renamed to Astana. On March 23, 2019 the city of Astana was renamed to the city of Nur-Sultan.

High density of buildings and no vacant areas, overcrowding of Almaty, deterioration of the ecological situation are regarded to be the main reasons to move the capital. To determine the optimal location of the new capital, an analysis was performed on 32 parameters. As a result of the analysis, Akmola was the most preferable among other options.

The city is located in the geographical center of Kazakhstan, close to important business regions and at the intersection of major highways.

In a short time - less than 1 year - the main state bodies, ministries, departments, large national companies were relocated, administrative buildings and institutions were built and reconstructed.

Today the area of ​​the city is 797 sq.km. Compared to 1997, the territory of Nur-Sultan has increased 2.5 times. When Akmola was announced a new capital, only 225 thousand people lived there. Currently the number accounts tofpth,fql;fyt 1,070,196 people (as of December 1, 2018). The city continues to be the center of gravity for human capital, while leading by the level of money incomes of the population. Ethnic composition: Kazakhs, Russians, Azerbaijanians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, Belarusians, Georgians, Moldovans, Tajiks, Uzbeks, etc.

The city is being built up in two directions: along with the transformation of its old part, free territories are being developed on the left bank of the river Esil (Rus. "Ishim").

Currently, the city is experiencing a real construction boom. In 2000, 110,873 square meters were built including housing, educational and administrative building of the Eurasian University, Presidential Cultural Center, and a new square opposite the House of Ministries, a Small Business Service Center and several business centers, a VIP town, residential buildings on the Elis river embankment. The city keeps growing.

The architectural project of Nur-Sultan city includes many design features of the future.

According to the first President N.Nazarbayev, the new city will combine the beauty of Europe and the refinement of the East, glass transitions from building to building, suspended winter gardens will be created in the city. Located in a zone with a sharply continental climate, the city will be equally attractive at any time of the year.